The conversation turns to 1 GW plans for PtX, of which there are already plans for two in Esbjerg, when I meet Hans Chr. Knudsen and Hans Wendelboe at the opening of FORCE Technology's opening of MEGA loop in Vejen.
Hans Chr. Knudsen is head of operations & maintenance from Electrochaea and Hans Wendelboe is an operations technician in the same company. Both have unique experience in both building and commissioning PtX plants, first in Avedøre and later in Switzerland and Germany, where Electrochaea is headquartered in Munich. They don't have much left for the GW plans.
- We just heard 14 days ago from FORCE Technology that the world's largest PtX plant today is in Japan, a 20 MW plant, says Hans Chr. Knudsen and explains what the reality looks like right now.
- When we started, we tried our best. No one had done it before. There were absolutely no YouTube videos about it, before he gives his opinion on 1 GW PtX plans:
- Let me put it this way, It's pure science fiction with 1 GW. I want to know what a 200 MW would cost to build, and who will build it?
There is simply development work that has not yet happened, he believes.
- It's about, for example, which materials can be used or not. Some types of steel cannot be used, while others, such as stainless steel or even some types of plastic, can be used, says Hans Chr. Knudsen.
Safety and certifications come first
While in many other energy production areas there are even very strict safety regulations, such as in the oil, gas and wind industries, it is a somewhat different story with PtX. Here there are only very few regulations yet.
- It is the Wild West, unlike many other areas, you do not need any qualifications, says Hans Wendelboe, and his colleague agrees. He remembers what it was like with safety approvals in Denmark.
- It is still cowboy country. We were given an exemption, because there are no regulations yet, says Hans Chr. Knudsen.
But here too, help is already on the way from FORCE Technology.
- We are going to the PtX safety network at FORCE Technology in Hobro on June 1st, says Hans Chr. Knudsen about the ”Power-to-X Safety Network", which is currently being facilitated by FORCE Technology in Hydrogen Valley outside Hobro.
Membership entitles you to participate in two annual events, which are intended to make the industry more aware of the safety surrounding PtX.
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